1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image display systems and, more particularly, to image display systems that both interact with personal computers or function individually.
2. Overview of the Prior Art
The framed painting, photograph, print, or lithograph, have been objects of visual enjoyment for centuries. These objects of visual enjoyment suffer from a number of limitations. First they are essentially static and must usually be replaced whenever the room interior in which they are displayed is changed. If the objective of visual enjoyment is a piece of original or rare artwork, it may be hard to acquire. These objects of visual enjoyment can deteriorate or get destroyed and be difficult to replace. Many people have photographs that they like to display in picture frames. Only one object can be placed in any one frame at a time. Currently many people display pictures in picture frames that are static and require a number of picture frames to display their favorite pictures. Many people take digital pictures and store them on their computer for later viewing. When pictures are stored on personal computers they can not be effective enjoyed while the computer user is using the computer for purposes other than viewing the pictures.
The drawbacks of traditional paintings, prints, and photographs are obvious: they are prone to destruction, theft, and replacement when the person tires of their static image.
Some of the earliest attempts at protecting or distributing a rare painting was by distributing a copy (or a print) of the painting. This allowed a large number of people to enjoy a rare painting, but this did not overcome the problem of the print needing to be replaced if the interior design of the room where the print was displayed was changed.
There are devices that provide dynamically changing pictures. And early method consisted of paper sheets with images wound on spools. These spools are mounted on each end of picture frame. An electrical or mechanical drive mechanism would rotate the spools providing the dynamically displayed image.
The placement of images of paper that are rotated to present a dynamic image, is that the once all of the images are viewed, they suffer from the same problem as fixed images. Also, the transitions from one image to another image results in a discontinuity between the images that can only be resolved after much effort.
As technology improved, it became obvious that a television could be mounted into a wall to provide a dynamically changing picture. This solution had a number of advantages, but the most obvious was that the picture was electronic, and the cost of changing or replacing the picture was as easy as changing the electronic transmission. A television set mounted in a wall is an obvious improvement because the image is now dynamic. But there are certain drawbacks to televisions mounted on the wall. If they are inset into the wall to accommodate the picture tube, then repair access is a problem. Also relocation of the picture requires patching the wall and building a new enclosure. The signal being transmitted to the television has the drawback of operating on a fixed number of frequencies. Finally, the resolution of the picture screen is limited by the television signal specification.
The television has given way to the LCD screen television displays. This technology uses a solid state display rather than a cathode ray tube (CRT) display that is a part of traditional television sets. An LCD display has the advantages of being ‘thin’, with narrow borders, almost the dimensions of picture itself. This technology requires a system to transmit the images to the television receiver.
LCD television sets do not have the mechanical limitations of traditional picture tubes, but they do have the drawback of operating on television signal frequencies. Also, they are limited in their resolution capabilities.
An improvement to the wall mounted LCD screen television is described by Jacklin in U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,472 B1 (2002) (hereinafter the '472 patent). The '472 patent overcomes the limitations of the television signal by incorporating a memory card as the device which stores the image. This provides the added benefit that a series of images can be stored on the memory card, for display. The images are displayed on the screen with a higher resolution than images displayed from a television signal. Also, a number of different images can be stored on each memory card.
The system described in the '472 patent, is a great improvement over the LCD screen television system for displaying pictures, in terms of improving resolution for the displayed image. Also the memory card eliminates the need to have the image transmitted via a television signal. But a major drawback of the system is that it requires an onboard display processing system and a memory card interface.
An improvement to the '472 patent is described by Bowden, III, et. al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,567 B1 (2004) (hereinafter the '567 patent). The '567 patent overcomes the limitations of the television signal and the memory card by incorporating wireless connection to the display. This wireless connection allows images to be transmitted to the display from a computer without the use of a memory card.
The system described in the '567 patent has the added advantage of the display being modifiable or changed without the use of memory cards. A drawback of the '567 system, however, is the added cost of incorporating a wireless receiver, memory card, and transmitter.
Another limitation of the '567 patent is the fact that it does not have continuous access to the user's picture files on their personal computer, and provides no solution for selecting those pictures that the user wishes to display on a separate picture frame connected to their personal computer.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide for a dynamic digital picture display system that serves as a more flexible substitute to the conventional picture frame.